I read today that for the first time since stats have been collected on household formations in America. The majority of American households are now being headed by single mothers. This information was enlightening to me. I’m an investor and managing partner at Wilson Real Estate Investments, LLC. in Charlotte, NC. Please visit our websites at, www.wilsoninvestmentproperties.com or www.wilsoninvestmentpropertiessells.com. We purchase and sell single family housing in the Charlotte, NC. metropolitan area. Most of our sells are done by a “lease with option”, which is also known as “rent to own”. I will be discussing this form of home buying in greater detail. I believe the option to purchase is one of the best ways to purchase a home if you’re having trouble coming up with the down payment or have less than stellar credit. As the new face emerges of the RE investor after the market crash, we believe that the mission of investing will be different .The new investor must be engaging to his clients needs. They will also need to be experts at least in the local real estate market. At Wilson Real Estate Investments, LLC. We believe that every house is built for a family and every family should own their home. It is a matter of matching house to family and family to house. We have focused our information to the single mother needing to purchase a home for her family. We will be using video and blogging to provide information on the process of home purchasing. These videos will provide information and explain terms that you will need to be familiar with as well as the process of home hunting, negotiating the contract with seller or realtor and signing real estate documents, to making the application for the mortgage. We will discuss the difference between buying foreclosure, shortsales, existing homes and from builders. The most important thing I would like for you to know and remember is that the information provided is just that, it is not intended to advise you or be the final authority on the subjects discussed. We will always say that your specific situation may be different so always seek legal advise from an attorney or tax consultant before entering into any deal or contract. For more information on our lease program click on more information below.

Leasing with option or rent to own or rent with option to purchase all mean the same though each may be done a little different. They are still the best ways for buyers and sellers to get together in this tough real estate market. Lending guides lines are tightening even as I post on this subject. Fannie and Freddie are making it very difficult for lenders to lend unless you can show proof that what you’re borrowing you don’t really need.

This week I’m going to share with you how I structure my rent to own/lease option deals to make sure I get paid.

First off, remember that the beauty of the lease option is there are three
basic yet different ways to make money. You can make money from the “option money” a
tenant/buyer pays you when they move into the place. You can make money from
the cash flow on the monthly rent you collect. And of course, the big payday is when you
sell the house to the tenant/buyer.

Let’s begin with the big payday when you sell to a tenant/buyer. When I’m
deciding to do a lease option deal. I want to make sure there is at least a $30k spread on the back end for me. What this means is that if I get a house under option for $150k, I want to be able…

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The lease to own Charlotte blog is the premier source for information on Rent to Own, Lease Purchase and Owner Financing properties. We are unique in that we offer information and how to set up a lease or rent to own situation.

In 2008 the housing market crashed and the United States economy went into a severe recession. Over 220 banks and financial institutions across the country either went out of business, had to be taken over or bailed out.

The housing market crash has undoubtedly made homes more affordable. However, the financial crises and failure of so many banks means that there is less money available for people looking to buy a home. Credit is essentially frozen as the few remaining banks are being overly cautious by imposing extremely strict lending requirements or are simply denying new home loan applications.

The new lending requirements mean that people with any or all of the following typically find it difficult to qualify for bank financing right now.

– Divorce

– Blemished credit

– New job (less than 2 yrs in existing employment)

– Home needs minor repairs

– Self employed/small business owners

– Insufficient down payment

– People needing to move quickly

– Limited credit history

– Newly weds

– Insufficient reserves (at least 6 months of living expenses)

– Existing debt (credit cards, car loans etc.)

– Previous bankruptcy or foreclosure.

Solution for Home Buyers

Get an affordable home today with Rent to Own or Owner Financing terms. Thousands of people in all of the above circumstances have responsibly obtained homes within their means using Rent to Own programs. The qualifying process is hassle free, fast and simple.

Rent to OwnRent to own also known as lease with the option to buy is a transaction in which the buyer agrees to rent the desired property for a period of time with the option of purchasing at a later date. In exchange for a down payment, the tenant is guaranteed an exclusive right to purchase the home within the agreed time frame. This means you can lock in the low prices available today and close on the home in future when you are able to qualify for traditional financing such as FHA, VA or conventional loan. Rent to Own transactions are only for people who have a realistic chance of qualifying for a new mortgage before the end of the Rent to Own agreement period.

Owner Financing
Owner financing also known as seller financing is a transaction in which the seller of a property agrees to take all or part of the purchase price in regular installments over a period of time. Since the seller is accepting payments over a period of time, a larger down payment is usually required and interest is charged on the remaining balance. Owner financing allows you to reap the benefits of home ownership right away without any of the delays, stumbling blocks or headaches associated with borrowing money from a bank.

Solution For Home OwnerWhen the housing market took a hit. Both homebuyers as well as homeowners found themselves with unexpected series of startling hurdles. Repos increased, debt payments with adjustable rates skyrocketed, as well as home values began to fall, tricky times? Would be sellers found that their properties stayed vacant longer despite decreasing the asking price. And when an offer was acceptable to seller, then would be buyer would have an issue with the appraisal or lender requirement and walk away. With these sorts of issues the homeowner has few options.

Enter Rent to Own

As a homeowner you decide to lease to own for a certain length of time. Common lease periods for many lease to own Charlotte properties is 1-5 years. During this period the renter has the exclusive right to the property and the option to purchase at the agreed purchase price.

Down payments called the option money is accepted by homeowner and usually is greater than a rent deposit. Normal up front option money $5k -$15k depending on purchase price. However it’s still lower than the 20% required by many banks for down-payment.

Lease to own houses in Charlotte

Benefits to homeowner include

* You can sell without major renovations or lowering sells price (losing equity).
* Monthly rental income will cover any of the property’s monthly costs.
* Lease to own provides you with more buyers to choose from.
* You can sell your home faster.
* Saves seller from being forced to pay dual mortgages payments.
* No realtor fees.
* The renter becomes responsible to maintain property. After all this is their home.

Charlotte’s real estate market is like many markets across the nation consisting of too many vacant properties. Charlotte’s real estate market will need to fill these vacancies before it begin to see any increase in property values.

The truth is that when properly designed and executed, rent to own programs present a winning scenario for both homeowner and potential buyer. And in the long run Charlotte’s local real estate market.

3 Situations Where Renting to Own In Charlotte Can Help

1. Down payment- Many of Charlotte’s rent to own buyers have solid income but don’t have the down payment required for traditional financing.

2. Credit- Charlotte’s tenant-buyer may not have enough established credit or may have damaged credit.

3. Income-Another common problem for Charlotte’s tenant –buyer is being self employed or receiving commission. Documenting these types of income is very difficult with the new banking guidelines.

There are more circumstances that rent to own would benefit the Charlotte housing market. These are 3 of the most common.

Renting To Own In Charlotte Can Offer Solutions

In each of the 3 cases above, rent to own offers an excellent solution. The program is setup to ensure tenant-buyer can have the initial down payment plus monthly rent credits needed at the end of their rent to own term. In the case of credit problems or income concerns, the rent to own term will give the tenant-buyer the time they need to establish or repair their credit as well as give them time to get the necessary documentation to show a steady track record of income.In each of the scenario a fairly designed rent to own program will put the tenant-buyer in a strong position to qualify for traditional financing by the end of their rent to own term.

This week I’m going to share with you how I structure my rent to own/lease option deals to make sure I get paid.

First off, remember that the beauty of the lease option is there are three
basic yet different ways to make money. You can make money from the “option money” a
tenant/buyer pays you when they move into the place. You can make money from
the cash flow on the monthly rent you collect. And of course, the big payday is when you
sell the house to the tenant/buyer.

Let’s begin with the big payday when you sell to a tenant/buyer. When I’m
deciding to do a lease option deal. I want to make sure there is at least a $30k spread on the back end for me. What this means is that if I get a house under option for $150k, I want to be able to sell it to my tenant/buyer for a bare minimum of $180k. In today’s market I try to get a $50k spread, but the lowest I’ll go is $30k.

Of course, these days you have to remember… The back end money is “bonus” money. When the market was hot several years ago, tenants were always exercising their options and it was easy to sell a house to a tenant/buyer. But now, it’s a lot tougher to get a tenant/buyer qualified and options are being exercised less frequently.

Now let’s get to the cash flow of the property. I like to make $200 a month
cash flow when I do a lease option deal. If my deal with the landlord requires
me to pay $1,000 a month in rent, then I want to be able to rent out the
property to the tenant/buyer for no less than $1,200 a month rent. In fact, one
of the best ways to ensure you get this $200 a month spread is to tell the
landlord that it’s company policy you make $200 a month or else your company
can’t do the deal. Remember depending on your option agreement with the owner,
you may be responsible for repair and maintenance on the property.

Also, something important that I do, and recommend you do too… Is that I always pay the landlord’s mortgage for him. I never send him a check, because I want to make sure the mortgage is getting paid on the property and he’s not just pocketing my money. For instance, on one deal I did the landlord’s payment was only about $600 a month, but my agreement stated I would pay him $800 a month. (I rented the house for $1,000 a month.) For this particular property I mailed the mortgage for $600 every month and then mailed the landlord a check for $200.

The final way you can get paid is from option money when a tenant/buyer moves into the house. When the market was booming you could get several thousand dollars. But now it’s usually about $5,000. I try not to get any less than that, but there have been times when a seller could only put down $4,000 or so and I had them make up the difference by sending me an extra $100 a month until the option money became $5,000.

Don’t forget, you can structure your lease option deals a million different ways, but the reason I do things this way is because not only does it make me a good amount of money, but I also have a cash cushion built in, just in case I made a mistake and calculated the numbers slightly off.

For more information or to add your lease option deals sign up and join our
newsletter.

Wilson Real Estate investment located in Charlotte, NC. We provide rehabbing for quick flips, or buy and hold and lease/rent to own properties.
We also provide landlording and record keeping on investment properties. Allowing landlords and private investors the confidence to enjoy what they do best with their time. View this informative video.

The Charlotte, NC. real estate marketing is on the upswing. Some of the activities is due in part to a seasonal change. However as the unemployment figures move downward, we will continue to see an increase in activity in the housing market here in Charlotte, NC.

The rental market in Charlotte, NC. has been an area that has seen great growth throughout the financial crisis. Charlotte available rentals are hovering around 86% full. With foreclosures being predicted to continue to come onto the market at high rates through the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2011. The rental market will continue it’s climb towards 90 to 95%. Which means rental rates will continue to climb. I have reports now that it is nearly impossible to find a rental below about $750.00 for a 2 bedroom in most areas in and around the Queen City.

With every cloud there is a silver lining. And that seems to be the case with the local housing market. A person just need to know where to look, or be shown where to look. Usually when the financial market i.e.
banking industry tighten it’s lending requirements and end some of it’s products, loans. The national and local economy begin to become stagnant or decline. Because businesses find it harder to get capital to expand which means fewer to no hiring or job creation. The government begin to look for ways to stimulate the economy.

A growing number of state and local governments are now offering what are called “down payment assistance programs,” grants or low- and no-interest loans to first-time buyers or those who haven’t owned a house in a few years. The number of programs, now somewhere around 1,000 nationally, has increased 3% to 5% in the last six months alone, estimates Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals, an advocacy group. And, in a stark reversal, some banks are now far more willing to work with borrowers who need down payment assistance, buyers who were considered too risky 18 months ago. State housing agencies say they’re seeing the biggest spike in lender interest since before the housing downturn.

For would-be buyers who qualify, this is a boon. Even with home prices down a 20% down payment is out of reach for many, yet that’s what many banks require. These programs are targeted at low- and middle-income buyers who have either never owned a home, or haven’t owned one in a few years. And then the benefits are substantial: Typically, the programs offer up to $80,000 in loans with interest rates from 0% to 2% to people with little or no money to put down. And then, because participants often have to get their mortgage through the programs’ preferred lenders, the primary mortgage rates are also low, often 0.75% to 1% lower than average rates. That can be a better deal than Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages, which require annual mortgage insurance and an upfront fee, and may have higher interest rates. Even for cash-strapped states these programs are apparently worth the cost. This is a way to boost homeownership, something they say leads to more jobs and higher home prices. The Department of Housing and Urban Development increased its support to local agencies down payment assistance programs by 16% in its last fiscal year to $44 million.

Charlotte has a program that help with down payment assistance. Many of the neighborhoods in and around Charlotte are eligible. The program is the NSP (Neighborhood Stabilization Program). One thing that isn’t widely published about this program is the household income levels vary. Many assume incorrectly that these programs are for low income wage earners. On the contrary these programs can be utilized by low to middle income wage earners. Also there are programs for policeman, fireman and teachers.

I would like for anyone with information or lenders participating in the Charlotte Neighborhood Stabilization Program to contact me. We need to get this information out, otherwise this money go unused and most of the time returned to the government. We have people who could use this hand up.

Wilson Investment Properties.comRenting or leasing to own is becoming more of a acceptable way of bringing homebuyers and homesellers together. As the financial crisis of the past few years drags on with fewer buyers qualified, it has led to homesellers looking for alternative ways of selling their homes.
The financial crisis led to many banks collasping or mergers with larger banks. The collasping of these financial institutions has caused a tightening of the criteria that banks use to qualify a consumer for a mortgage. Coupled that with the flood of foreclosures on the market. Which causes home prices to fall and the days on the market to increase. Rent or leasing to own has become a great way for home sellers to get the asking price they want as well as get the home off the market more easily.
The longer a home remains on the market buyers begin to wonder if there might be something wrong with the home. Also the more days on the market, leads to home sellers lowering the asking price which also send the message of distress either with the home or the homeowner.
This is where renting or leasing to own can bring home seller and home buyer together. Rent to own also known as lease with the option to buy is a transaction in which the buyer agrees to rent the desired property for a period of time with the option of purchasing at a later date. In exchange for a down payment, the tenant is guaranteed an exclusive right to purchase the home within the agreed time frame. This means you can lock in the low prices available today and close on the home in the future when you are able to qualify for traditional financing such as FHA, VA or conventional loan. Rent to Own transactions are only for people who have a realistic chance of qualifying for a new mortgage before the end of the Rent to Own agreement period.
We have a program where we purchase discounted homes and sell them to a end buyer using the rent or lease to own option.Visit our website Wilson Real Estate Investment, LLC. for more information or join our lease option list. Let us know exactly the area, type, bedroom and bath requirements you need. As soon as a property becomes available that fit your criteria you will be notified first.